Coffee at the office
So, I admit. I really like coffee.
3 years ago I did a diet experiment that meant I’d have to ditch sugar in coffee. It was then that I started my relationship with coffee.
From then to now, I’ve lived in 4 continents. I have tried local coffees, blends, single origins, and some innovations, like the Singaporean Kopi. And still, my favorite goes back to my roots in Brazil. The flavour is nutty, sort of naturally sweet and grounded.
When I joined Atlassian, I found out that there’s no coffee available in the office, so employees can leave their desks and go outside to have a break — a very good idea, by the way — And I thought this could also be also an excellent opportunity! As a problem solver, I tried to think outside the box on how to solve the challenge of having coffee at my desk, anytime.
First, some research
I looked into the cupboards, saw that some people have their own cups, and found out we have boiling water available on all taps. I also saw a couple of french presses and even a small espresso machine somewhere. Now, I had to use this information to come up with a practical yet tasty solution.
e-commerce, the paradise for the impulsive shopper
I was browsing online for some kitchen supplies, because I had recently moved. Then I saw something new to me: a Travel Coffee Maker that was both cup and french press, that looked interesting.
Impulsive, perhaps; in any case, I bought it and brought it to the office. Now the question is: does it work properly?
Putting it to the test
As a test, I bought some Single Origin from Guatemala (couldn’t find SO from Brazil at the supermarket). Nothing fancy, just everyday coffee for a field test.
Being methodical, and since I was at the supermarket, I bought some ziplock bags. That way, I could store the coffee after opening the bag in “vacuum-sealed” bags, individually packed for the daily kick. Yes, I prefer to work once and not having to measure spoons every time I want coffee.
Having no idea how strong was this coffee, I decided to binary search it. Experimented first with 5 spoons, and as expected, it was undrinkable (too strong). So I jumped to 2, thinking 3 would be the magic number. Surprise! two spoons was the ideal for this bean, which is considered intense (9 in a 12 points scale) — disclaimer: I have no idea where this scale comes from.
The tap with boiling water worked wonders, as well as the travel cup/french press. I believe I lose 50ml of the cup because of the french press sieve, so it's ~300ml. A decent-sized coffee, at a proper temperature, ready to drink in 4 minutes and 10 steps from my desk.
Repeatable, measurable, predictable. It works as a scientific experiment, and in my humble opinion, this experiment was a success!
Oh, did I mention the financial factor?
I don’t think so. A colleague calculated that if you take a $4 coffee a day, in a year the daily coffee it can cost you a round trip ticket to Japan ($1000).
With the solution above, buying a 250g coffee pack the cost is around $0.40 per cup. If I buy 1kg coffee bag instead, it decreases to $0.23 per cup, or $57.50 a year instead of $1000… that’s quite some coffee savings! :)
